


Lover of the Light

by Juno999



Series: Fakiru Drabbles [1]
Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Innocent romance, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, soft, soft boy fakir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28272219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juno999/pseuds/Juno999
Summary: Fakir never missed Ahiru’s performances. From the first time he saw her dance, he knew that there was something special about her. Many things were really. Ahiru was clumsy, and awkward, and absentminded, and graceless. She lacked the natural born talent to be a ballet dancer. Her performance at the entrance exams to the academy was a complete disaster. Still something about Ahiru caught the director’s eye and she got admitted, despite her poor marks. It was her energy; she radiated with a deep and sincere love of dance. It was like she carried a light within her.Moden AU FakiruFakir is a struggling Master of Fine Arts student in English and Creative writing. Ahiru is a dancer with the Golden Crown ballet company. On Christmas Eve he rushes to see her perform in a production of the Nutcracker. Neither of them know that this is an evening for miracles...
Relationships: Ahiru | Duck/Fakir (Princess Tutu), Fakir & Mytho (Princess Tutu)
Series: Fakiru Drabbles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071191
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Lover of the Light

**Author's Note:**

> Rue doesn't get her spotlight here, but her and Mytho are engaged.  
> Everyone's ages roughly are:  
> Mytho - 25  
> Rue - 22  
> Fakir - 22  
> Ahiru - 21

All his words came out wrong.

Fakir sighed and closed his laptop. There were days when writing didn’t come easy to him and today was one of those. The timing couldn’t have been worse; the deadline for submitting his assignment was fast approaching. Fakir had a week to produce a short story based on a significant moment in one’s life. Not a difficult task by any means, but for whatever reason he was struggling. The words didn’t flow, the dialog felt forced, and the paragraphs seemed disjointed. Fakir was frustrated; he’d dealt with writer’s block before, but this was just too inconvenient. Why did it had to happen now?

Annoyed he took a sip of his coffee. The cup has been sitting on his desk since morning, but he barely touched it. The coffee tasted abysmal. It was cold and bitter and stale. It could be tolerable with some milk, but they were out. Ahiru was supposed to pick some up, along with other groceries, on the way back from her morning rehearsal. It must have slipped her mind. Come to think of it, Fakir couldn’t remember if she came home for lunch or not… He got too caught up in his work. Fakir looked up at the clock and cursed. He was running late.

It was 5 pm on Christmas Eve. That evening he Golden Crown ballet company was giving the last performance of their Nutcracker production for the season. Ahiru held her two usual roles in the production in the Waltz of the Snowflakes and the Flower Waltz. Fakir grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door. If he hurried he could make it to the end of the first act.

Fakir never missed Ahiru’s performances. From the first time he saw her dance, he knew that there was something special about her. Many things were really. Ahiru was clumsy, and awkward, and absentminded, and graceless. She lacked the natural born talent to be a ballet dancer. Her performance at the entrance exams to the academy was a complete disaster. Still something about Ahiru caught the director’s eye and she got admitted, despite her poor marks. It was her energy; she radiated with a deep and sincere love of dance. It was like she carried a light within her.

It took Ahiru a long time to start improving. Fakir had seen many dancers, during his time at the academy. Some were true prodigies, who learned every new move with ease, some took a while to improve. Ahiru outdid them all. She had to work twice as hard as everyone else in her class, just to stay on the same level as them. She did it all with a smile on her face without even a hint of bitterness. Ahiru was just happy to be there and to dance - it was her dream come true. Everyone at the academy adored her sweet and charming personality. As time passed, Fakir realized he had fallen deeply, desperately and hopelessly in love with her.

Fakir breathed out a sigh of relief, as he ran through the doors of theatre foyer. The music he heard upon entering indicated that the first act was still going. It was at the first chords of the great battle with mouse king. He had time to find his seat, before Ahiru took stage.

“You are late,” Mytho whispered, as Fakir slipped into the booth and took his seat.

“I’ve seen this ballet a thousand times,” he dismissed.

“Not like this, you haven’t,” Mytho smiled mysteriously.

Fakir looked at his friend in confusion. Mytho, attended the same ballet academy, as him and Ahiru, but was a few years ahead. He was a true prodigy, a brilliant performer from an early age. Somehow Mytho had it all - great natural talent, flawless technique, strong discipline and endless love for dance. During one of his performances he drove the audience to tears. He had retired from dancing this year to take up the role of a choreography director with the Golden Crown company. There were rumours that he was changing up some casting in future productions, but the Nutcracker had been set for months. It would be the same version Fakir had seen for years now, with Rue in her rightful role as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Ahiru still part of the corps de ballet. And he was there to watch her dance, even if she was just one among a dozen dancers on the stage.

The last chords of the battle music died down. Fakir turned his attention to the stage, which was shrouded in darkness for the set change. Gentle sound of the Snow Pas de Duex filled the theatre. The lights went back on, illuminating the scene in the winter forrest. In the middle of the stage there was Herr Drosselmeyer, with two figures hiding under his cape. A moment later he revealed Clara and the Nutcracker prince to the audience and then retreated backstage.

The dancer who played Clara looked oddly familiar. She was dressed in a pale yellow costume, with blue accents. Her bright red hair was tied up with a sky blue satin ribbon. Her smile was so bright it could probably be been from outer space. Fakir gasped in disbelief. It was Ahiru!

“She was an understudy for the role since the production began this season,” Mytho explained, amused by Fakir’s reaction. “The dancer who performed previously had to end her contract early, so Ahiru took her place for today. On Christmas Eve, no less. What a wonderful day for a debut!”

“It’s a Christmas miracle,” Fakir agreed.

His eyes were focused on the stage. He wanted to see every second of Ahiru’s debut performance, because he’d already missed so much. How could it be the same girl from his junior class? The ugly duckling of the ballet academy? Now she was a graceful swan; her every movement well rehearsed, her every gesture carefully thought out. She was not as polished, as an experience soloist such as Rue would be, butstill lively and charming. She was like Clara herself, living through her own Christmas miracle. Fakir didn’t look away from the stage for the rest of the performance, his gaze following Ahiru. She made herself gently present in every scene. She was expressive, elegant and so unbelievably beautiful. The light she had carried inside her was lost when she was a part of a group number. As a soloist, she shined as bright as any star capturing the whole audience present.

Once the performance ended the applause were deafening. Fakir rushed backstage to congratulate Ahiru on her debut. He should have brought flowers…He would have to make up for this at a later time. Ahiru was still wearing her stage costume. She was surrounded by the familiar faces from the ballet academy all congratulating her on her success. Once she saw him, she ran over and threw her arms around him, encircling Fakir in a tight hug. He placed a small kiss on top of her head.

“Did you see me? Did you see me dance as Clara?”

They might as well have turned the lights off, her smile was enough to light up the whole room.

“I did,” he said. “You were amazing!”

“I could still improve a great deal,” she frowned. “But Mytho says that I can try out for Clara again next year, if I keep on practicing.”

“That’s good to know, maybe you’ll be able to audition for other roles too.”

“Maybe,” she paused for a moment thinking. Something was bothering her. “How did your day go? Did you finish your assignment?”

“No, I didn’t,” he admitted. “It just wasn’t coming together. I’ll work on it tomorrow. Tonight we celebrate your debut!”

“Still, you only have so much time to work on it…”

As Ahiru said that, his phone buzzed. Fakir pulled it out of his pocket and read the email he just got. It was from his creative writing professor. Today was truly a day for miracles!

“What is it?” she wondered.

“I’ve got an extension on my assignment,” he said. “The whole class did, actually, apparently there was a mistake in the guidelines or something…”

He thought back to the theme of his story. A significant moment in one’s life, huh? Didn’t it just happen to the two of them? Suddenly ideas flooded his brain. Fakir quickly typed them into his notes, before the words escaped him again. They were flowing easily, all falling into the right places.

“You’ve got an idea for your story,” Ahiru said, watching him type.

“I did.”

“What will it be about?”

“About you,” Fakir smiled, watching her blush deep red. “All my stories are about you…”

**Author's Note:**

> Since I am on a roll for ancient anime from early 2000's, I just had to write for Princess Tutu. Man, this series is so underrated... and I love it so so much. Fakiru for life! 🥰  
> In the beginning of the story Fakir is me, and I am him. *screams into her grad school application*  
> Sometimes writing is just hard man, and it's always at the worst of times. That was me earlier this month, trying to write my letter of intent...  
> Anyway, hope you all enjoy. I have a couple of other holiday fics planned for the upcoming weeks, they will be for other fandoms though. I am very excited about my little series here! Oh yeah and all the fics are named after songs, cause titles are hard...  
> Happy Holidays! 🎄  
> Thank you for reading!💜


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